Description:
The Saraswati Veena is one of the most important solo instruments in Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. The beautiful sound of the vena is warm and fulfilling, yet also buzzing and metallic. The body of the Veena is made of solid jack wood, while the metal frets are set into wax. It also includes brass bridges, four melody strings, three drone strings and a carved dragon head adorned with gold film.
Playing Techniques:
This instrument is traditionally placed on the floor, while the Veena player sits next to it with crossed legs. The corpus is put on the floor in front of the right knee while the upper resonator is placed on the left. The fingerboard is adjusted diagonally upward. The plucking technique is similar to other instruments related to the veena. The fingering technique is similar to that of the sitar, another classical Indian instrument. Ornaments and small intervals can also be played by pulling the string sideways on the frets.
